The present invention relates to a game racket, and more particularly to a game racket having a fiber reinforced shaft designed specifically for absorbing shock effectively.
It is a well-known fact that a game racket of the prior art often brings about the so-called elbow injury to the hand of a player holding such game racket. With a view to mitigating the shock wave of the game racket upon hitting a ball, a U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,167 discloses a game racket having fiber-reinforced shaft provided with a window located at the upper end of the handle of a hollow construction. A synthetic foam core is lodged in the window so as to enhance the flexibility of the game racket and to reduce slightly the rigidity of the game racket. In other words, the foam core serves dual purposes of preventing the shaft from breaking and of mitigating the transmission of shock by the shaft.
Another prior art method of reducing the shock transmission by a game racket is disclosed in a United States Patent (pending, with a filing number of 07/535,840). This disclosure deals with a method by which the vibration of the string is rapidly attenuated. Such deed is accomplished by means of the shock-absorbing block or the shock-absorbing elongate body, which is fastened to the string. However, such method is defective in that the shock-absorbing block or body can not attenuate the shock wave that has been already transmitted to the racket frame, and that the shock-absorbing block or body is vulnerable to becoming detached from the string to which it is fastened.
A British Patent 9009831.0 (filed on May 2, 1992) discloses a game racket comprising a head portion and a shaft, which are coupled by means of a shock-absorbing material serving to mitigate the shock wave that is transmitted from the head portion to the shaft. Such method is defective in design in that the structural integrity of the game racket is undermined by the shock-absorbing material which is used to couple the head portion and the shaft. It is often difficult to select a shock-absorbing material which has an appropriate hardness to safeguard simultaneously the rigidity and the shock-absorbing effect of the game racket.
There is still another U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,594 disclosing a shock-absorbing means of game racket handle. Such shock-absorbing means may be also mounted on the head frame of the racket.